Bill Belichick. Mike Vrabel. Jim Harbaugh. There are some high-quality coaches available this off-season. To many Chicago Bears fans, it felt like a golden opportunity to reset everybody. Grab one of the big names, replace the staff, and go get that new quarterback in the 2024 draft. The problem is the one person who needed to feel that way was GM Ryan Poles, and it was evident even before the end of the season that Matt Eberflus had done more than enough to earn a third season with the team.
People couldn’t understand it. What about the past two years could possibly convince the GM that this was the right call? Eberflus has a 10-24 record. His team blew multiple double-digit leads during the season and looked completely outclassed again by the Green Bay Packers. Poles had an answer ready for this. He made it clear that the frustrating setbacks weren’t all on him. The Bears are still in the middle of a rebuild. Their roster isn’t where it needs to be. Besides, he is convinced of one thing.
“The stability was a big piece of it,” Poles said. “The detail that he coaches with. Taking some of the mistakes from the game, bringing them to practice and making sure that we’re doing things the right way, I saw a lot of progress in that.
“There’s a reason why we went from three to seven wins. The player aspect of it is important but also the detail and bringing the team together. Sticking through those hard times allowed us to push through, and you saw a lot of those wins happening toward the back end of the season.
“If it’s not for him, I really don’t think that’s the case. I think it starts to crumble; everyone starts to do their own thing.”
It is the coach’s unflappable personality under pressure. Ironically, he found that out while playing golf together in their spare time. Even when not playing well, Eberflus would maintain his composure and find a way to rally. It is why Poles learned never to trash talk or make bets with him. That personality was on full display in 2023. There were multiple instances where the season could’ve and probably should’ve gone off the rails.
Despite all of that, the Bears still more than doubled their win total from the previous year. Like it or not, Ryan Poles is correct. A lot of coaches would’ve never been able to hold the team together through all of that. Having that captain who can run the ship through stormy seas is invaluable. The trick is finding the right first mate (offensive coordinator) and helmsman (quarterback) to help things reach the next level.
